The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has submitted the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule: Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods. The rule is proposing to establish additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for persons that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods the FDA has designated for inclusion on the Food Traceability List.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced $800 million in debt relief to distressed USDA farm loan borrowers. The loans will assist approximately 115,000 producers who cannot obtain sufficient commercial credit through direct and guaranteed farm loans.

The United States Department of Labor has published a final rule to amend the H-2A visa program. The final rule, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States, is effective as of November 14, 2022.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published a new policy resource page, Animals in NIH Research. The webpage provides details on how, why, and when NIH uses animals in biomedical research and the associated benefits.

President Biden has signed the National Security Memorandum on Strengthening the Security and Resilience of United States Food and Agriculture. The memorandum builds on the Biden Administration’s ongoing work to ensure Americans have access to safe, affordable food, that US producers can get their goods to market, and that the US food and agricultural system is better prepared for threats that may harm the health of crops and livestock and cause shocks to the cost or availability of food.

During the midterm elections, Colorado voters approved a ballot proposition that will create a universal free lunch system. Proposition FF or the Reduce Income Tax Deduction Amounts to Fund School Meals Program Measure comes because many educators and advocates believe that the cost of living in Colorado is higher than in many other states, resulting in many families struggling to afford healthy meals.

The 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) was held this month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. One of the top priorities during this year’s conference is to reduce the impact of food and agriculture systems on the environment.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced over $73 million in 21 grant projects through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The grant projects will expand meat and poultry processing capacity, increase competition, support producer income, and strengthen the food supply chain to lower costs for working families and create jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that registration for the 99th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF) is now open. AOF is USDA’s largest and premier annual two-day event, being held in-person at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on February 23-24, 2023, and all sessions will be live streamed on a virtual platform.

The Biden administration has announced a new investment of over $50 million in grants will be provided to US schools to invest in new food service equipment that will allow them to continue serving nutritious meals. In 2022, the administration has given $30 million in equipment grants to schools.

A conference to highlight the global role and importance of meat and meat production was recently held in Dublin, Ireland. The conference, “The Societal Role of Meat - What the Science Says,” was organized by a panel of world-renown meat science experts and The Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), the semi-state authority in the Republic of Ireland responsible for research and development, training, and advisory services in the agriculture and food sector.

When heat is applied to food, the structure of sugars and proteins are rearranged. Some of the newly formed compounds are Maillard reaction products (MRP). The Maillard reaction can form melanoidins that improve color, flavor, and aroma, but can also lead to the loss of essential amino acids and the formation of advanced glycation end-products that may negatively affect animal health.

Water will continue to be a concern for beef cattle production, particularly in the west where surface and ground water are rapidly depleting. The beef industry has made great strides in water reduction but will need to continue to decrease blue water use, for if there is no water, beef cannot be produced.

The level of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in low laying rate hens was significantly decreased in the serum, small white follicles, and dominant follicles. In the hypothalamus and small yellow follicles, the mRNA expression level of estrogen receptor in low laying rate hens was higher than in the medium laying rate hens.

The rate of development of growth traits determines the productivity of sheep. Shortening the fattening cycle of sheep can effectively improve economic efficiency.

Ractopamine (RAC) is a feed additive that stimulates rate of gain, feed efficiency, and carcass leanness in finishing cattle. The objective of the present study was to quantify the effects of age and RAC on whole body metabolism and nutrient use by tissues of the portal-drained viscera, liver, and hindquarters of steers.

Insects are regarded as one of the most promising protein sources for feed production due to its high nutritional value and low environmental cost. The objectives of this study were to analyze the dynamic nutritional composition of Drosophila (fruit fly) at various developmental phases in parallel with a commercial black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal, as well as to determine the effect of diets with their inclusion on broilers.

July 27, 2015 – Ashley Weaver, from Rocky River, Ohio, is one of four recipients of the 2015 ASAS Science Policy Summer Internship.

Weaver is a senior at The Ohio State University majoring in animal science and minoring in political theory. She hopes to attend Law School in the Fall of 2016, focusing on Environmental and Animal Law.

“With a law degree I hope to be able to provide counseling and scientific-driven information to help the agricultural world,” said Weaver.

Weaver grew up in a suburb near Lake Erie, Ohio and had limited agriculture experience. However, she had a passion for riding horses. Consequently, this passion inspired her to receive her Associate’s degree in Horse Science from the Agricultural Technical Institute of Ohio State.

May 25, 2015 – Maci Lienemann, a junior majoring in animal science at the University of Nebraska, is one of four recipients of the 2015 ASAS Science Policy Summer Internship Program in Washington, D.C. Lienemann will intern with U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., during her time in Washington, D.C.

“I have a unique set of interests when it comes to livestock, science and policy, so I hope this internship will give me a glimpse of how I can combine those into a future career,” Lienemann said in a recent University of Nebraska-Lincoln press release.

During the internship, Lienemann will work with congressional staff and federal agencies on preparing research and legislative briefings. She will also interact with agricultural constituents.

Funding from the Bob Zimbelman, Harold Hafs, Barb Glenn, Jack Britt, and Louis Boyd Appreciation Clubs will support this summer’s science policy interns.